Police today identified the man shot and killed by an officer Thursday afternoon in Hawaiian Paradise Park as 36-year-old BJ Medeiros of Keaau.
Police today identified the man shot and killed by an officer Thursday afternoon in Hawaiian Paradise Park as 36-year-old BJ Medeiros of Keaau.
An autopsy conducted today determined Medeiros died from a gunshot wound to his torso, police said.
According to police, officers responded to a 1:20 p.m. Thursday call reporting a man possibly armed with a weapon. Reports by other media outlets and on social media indicate Medeiros may have been suicidal.
Officers combed the Hawaiian Paradise Park subdivision and found Medeiros on Beach Road off Kaloli Drive seated in a pickup truck, police said.
Two officers approached the vehicle and police say a struggle ensued. During the struggle, Medeiros allegedly pointed a handgun at one of the officers. In response, that officer fired his duty weapon, killing him.
According to police, the officer who fired his weapon is a nine-year veteran of the Hawaii Police Department for nine years. The other officer, who has five years’ experience, was taken to Hilo Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries.
No officers were injured by gunfire, police said.
The officers involved in the incident will be on administrative leave during the investigations.
Anyone who witnessed Thursday’s shooting is asked to to contact Detective Tuckloy Aurello at 961-2385 or Crime Stoppers at 961-8300.
This is the fourth fatal police-involved shooting so far this year, all in East Hawaii. The other three were in Hilo.
Kalyp Allen Rapoza, 25, of Hilo, was shot June 6 by an officer at a home on East Kawailani Street. Police say Rapoza chased Fire Department ambulance personnel back into their vehicle workers with a dog and a knife. An officer was dispatched to the scene, was also confronted, according to police, and shot both Rapoza and the pit bull.
On Feb. 9, Scottie Yanagawa, a 29-year-old prison furlough escapee wanted by police was shot to death after an armed confrontation in the Hilo Wal-Mart parking lot, police said.
And on Feb. 5, Ronald Barawis, a 38-year-old parolee from Kailua-Kona, was shot and killed by officers in the drive-thru of the McDonald’s at Puainako Town Center in Hilo. Police say Barawis, who was wanted for parole violation and contempt of court, was heavily armed and drove at officers, who fired in response.
A woman who was in the car with Barawis was critically injured by gunfire.
Yanagawa and Barawis were reportedly both wanted by police for a Jan. 31 shooting at Honolii lookout that critically injured a Kona man, William Holbron-Kealoha.
A paroled murderer, John Perez III, was arrested for the shooting and is awaiting trial for second-degree attempted murder.
The shooting will be subject to two police investigations, which is standard practice in any police-involved shooting. One is a criminal investigation by the Hilo Criminal Investigations Section. The other is an administrative investigation by the Office of Professional Standards, the department’s internal affairs unit.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.